NFL has yet to send memo to teams on hazing

Posted by Mike Florio on November 10, 2013, 9:27 AM EDT

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It’s generally accepted that, after Ted Wells completes his Miami investigation and Commissioner Roger Goodell metes out discipline, the NFL will send a clear message to all teams about what will and won’t be tolerated among teammates in the future.

For now, no message has been sent. Per a league source, the only memo sent by the NFL to the teams to date on the topic relates to the appointment of Wells, an outside lawyer, to conduct the investigation.

In contrast, the NBA already has sent a memo to its teams regarding hazing. Per Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the NBA memo mentions the Dolphins situation and outlines a long list of conduct that league policy already prohibits.

The banned conduct includes, via Stein, “any physical abuse or threats of violence; verbal abuse focused on an individual’s race, nationality, color, gender, age, religion, sexuality, etc.; destruction, defacement or theft of a fellow player’s personal property; engaging in any activity that intimidates or threatens fellow players with ostracism or inflicts extreme mental stress, embarrassment, humiliation or shame; and forcing an individual to engage in any activity or perform any task that violates federal, state or local law or NBA rules and regulations.”

NBA players also are prohibited from forcing other players “to unreasonably pay for meals, travel, entertainment expenses, goods or services that are being solely enjoyed by others as well as imposing physical activities on a fellow player — such as exposure to weather, confinement in a restricted area, or consumption of food, liquid or substance — that leads to unreasonable risk for the individual or adversely affects their mental or physical health or safety.”

As Stein explains it, the NBA culture is different from the NFL’s when it comes to the treatment of younger players. That culture apparently extends to the NBA’s league office, given the speed with which the NBA has reacted to a problem that didn’t even arise in their sport.

9 responses to “NFL has yet to send memo to teams on hazing”

The NBA expects everyone to act in a professional manner and treat your teammates with respect. What a shocking expectation!
The NFL should try evolving and ban hazing. You know how a team comes together–working towards one goal and giving everything you have to reach your goals. Demeaning another man does not build team unity.

Over the last decade the NBA has done a great job building a better image of their players. The NFL really hasn’t done anything but respond to individual problems as they arise. NFL playing defense could learn a few things from the NBA playing offense on player image.

I suggest that it is the players and not the teams that are doing the hazing. With this in mind, I think the NFLPA should be the entity that is responsible for sending out the anti-hazing memos to the players.

The difference is the NBA is as non-physical as it’s ever been. I’ve seen more flopping than at any other time in the NBA’s history. It’s not a physical sport like the NFL. Interestingly, it has more in common and less in common, simultaneously, with the NHL. If the NHL isn’t quite as physical, it’s certainly as tough. Those are some tough men. But you hardly ever hear about hazing or any of this nonsense that goes on in the NFL.

Is it because the NHL is not very popular and, thereby, sneaks under the radar? Is it a cultural thing? The NHL is mostly devoid of American minorities, specifically blacks, and is not a cheap game to undertake as a child, and football at the pee-wee, high school, and college levels is WAY MORE prevalent than hockey at those levels. You won’t find too many inner-city kids in America signing up for hockey, that’s just the reality.

In the NFL, there seems to be this “respect” that you came up poor or you had it rough growing up because you lived in an urban jungle. Hence, why an Incognito, a white dude, getting treated like a so-called “honorary black dude” works in the NFL. But you don’t have that same culture in hockey and you don’t hear about hazing. All I’m asking is are the two–culture and hazing–connected?